Take On Me
by Shini-666
Summary: Creating new life requires two sparks. What are the Twins to do when they manage it & can't carry the sparkling to term? What's a medic to do when his patients refuse to terminate the new life to save their own? How will Ratchet cheat Primus this time?
1. We're talking away

Disclaimer: I don't own Hasbro or Transformers. There is a transformer outside my house, but it is on a telephone pole and that too, I do not own.

Forward:

This is a mixed continuity. Assume for the most part that there was a war, they had gone to Earth, now it's over. The rest will be explained. Characters are, in my mind, their Movieverse selves, in that they aren't blocky, but as you'll see from character descriptions I held more true to G1 colors for the most part with a few exceptions.

It is to be noted that while Sideswipe's movieverse self is damn sexy, it is not what I have in mind for this story, so he and his twin are more their typical, gladiator, tough framed selves.

Other things to note, the references will be made more clear as the chapters progress, this one needed to serve a specific purpose so there isn't much background information for a reason.

Also, I refer to Shy-Light's guide from deviantart on Autobot optic color. The idea of them all having the same boring blue optics is well, just that, boring.

Chapter not Beta'd, doing this for fun in the middle of finals. Tried to catch any glaring errors but over all I'm not too worried or concerned about them. This is for fun!

* * *

Sunstreaker was downright randy.

That was really the most sensitive way to put it.

In truth, Sunstreaker was currently challenging every petro-rabbit's record for the number of times, duration and overall sheer processor blowing interfaces he could get with his twin; not that Sideswipe minded in the least.

Peace was boring. As a former gladiator, turned former front line warrior there was little for Sunstreaker to do, so he did his twin as often as time and energy would allow.

Returning from another processor numbing shift on comm. duty the golden warrior radiated annoyance. Sideswipe was the lucky one who'd been off duty today and was stretched out on the couch in their quarters, attention focused on the game he was currently playing. He might have been giving off the air of disinterest but Sunstreaker knew better, it was a ploy, because when it came down to it, Sideswipe was just as hot under the plating as his twin.

Grabbing at a pede Sunstreaker forcefully pulled his twin's lower half off the couch to make room for his own frame, stretching out himself (the right way mind you, with pedes on the floor and arms thrown over the back of the couch) Sunstreaker decided two could play that game and set about ignoring his twin. When two silver pedes headed for his lap a growl was all he need give to have them reconsider their current course. They were replaced by Sideswipe's upper frame, the red twin pausing his game long enough to shift and drape himself over his twin's lap, nuzzling his black helm against a golden shoulder briefly before going back to the game.

They didn't need words, they had a bond like no other, when it came down to it, the things they didn't say held the most weight in their relationship. All it took was a smirk from Sunstreaker, arms encircling his twin and clawed fingers dancing across plating for Sideswipe to know what was coming.

The red twin could only thank Primus that Sunny had rescued him from his own boredom, after all, how many times could you beat a game before it became a chore to play? Glancing up to the perfectly polished features of his twin, Sideswipe couldn't help but smile as he tilted his helm up and stole a kiss.

The last coherent thought he had, was on how his little game character was going to rescue the princess without his help. Oh well, some things you had to face all on your own.

* * *

When the red twin came around there were many little things his processors soaked in. From his time in the Pits of Kaon his skills had been honed and he was a work of deadly art. Everyone knew Sunstreaker was vicious at best, downright berserk when he wanted to be, but he knew he wasn't often roped into that same category. That only served to make him more deadly. He could fit in better with the crew, he could 'turn off' that lust for battle, so they thought anyway. It was there, it was always there, even in peacetime it was still there, no amount of peace would ever have his skills, forged in battle, fading.

For this reason he noted several things immediately. The lights were too bright, even before he fully onlined his optics he could feel the intensity across his sensor net, his and Sunny's room was dimly lit at best. This wasn't his berth, the air temp was wrong, everything about where he was wrong. This didn't immediately set off a panic mode as Sideswipe knew exactly where he was, the Ark's medbay.

Blue optics finally lit as he took in the sight of his twin, seated in a chair by his berth, the golden warrior was slouched, arms crossed over his impressive chassis and dozing. Shifting to better sit Sideswipe took in the rest of the 'bay, there was no flurry of movement, no after battle rush or influx of wounded so it was safe to say he hadn't been involved in a battle. He didn't feel damaged anyway. He did a quick internal scan but it came up negative for any virus or other invasive programming so he didn't think that was the reason for his visit either. Stumped the red twin checked his chronometer and only then began to worry.

Three days.

He'd lost three days.

He remembered everything up until a very hazy, but incredibly satisfying overload-as usually he and his twin merged sparks just to sweeten the deal and keep their bond strong and then…nothing. He searched his memory banks but they were empty, not even fragmented files to indicate he'd been online at all during the three day lapse.

"Guess you really did a number on me Sunshine." He offered softly, trying not to alert the deadly beast-not his twin mind you, this deadly beast was probably prowling the area nearby, or hiding in its 'den' waiting for helpless victims to wander by.

The golden warrior was alert in an instant, frame tensing as he came online and shifted to sit up in his chair, the pristine mech said nothing to his twin, averting his optics and that had Sideswipe worried. He reached across the bond but his twin was shielded, a hint of the unknown wavering across the bond. "What's going on Sunshine?" His voice had risen to a more normal decimal, not that he'd show it but there was fear across the bond, only annoyance colored his tone.

The beast had been woken.

Sideswipe could see the beast crossing the medbay, stalking ever closer and the red twin knew he was the beast's prey. What he didn't expect was the downright defeated air about the medic when the white and red mech stopped by his berth, opposite Sunstreaker. "Sides, how are you feeling?"

Sideswipe was worried now, the unease that had been settling in his spark was now tenfold. Of everyone who knew the medic, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker knew him best. When you had nothing to worry about physically, you had to worry about the medic's temper, snark and wrench. When there was something seriously wrong you had to worry about, you saw this other side. Sideswipe didn't like this side of the medic.

"How should I be feeling?" He asked honestly, the medic knew something and Sideswipe wanted to know what.

He was fixed with a dry look, but Ratchet didn't rise to the bait just yet, instead he turned his attention to the various monitors, studying their read outs in silence. Sideswipe knew he was starting to stress out. He could face Grimlock on a bad day, he and his twin had taken on Devestator more than once. Frag, they'd even been a part of a five mech crew who'd taken down Trypticon once; but the here and now had him wondering if this was what a human panic attack felt like.

"Sideswipe you need to calm down." Ratchet's voice was even, a hand moving to rest on the red twin's shoulder as the monitors beeped indicating his spark's current state.

"Then tell me what the frag is going on!" That sounded more like Sunstreaker but the red twin'd had enough of this. Sunny wasn't telling him, Ratchet was asking questions he knew the answer to, and he was in the dark.

"Sideswipe, you've sparked."

There was silence following that statement. Sideswipe stared at the medic for several long moments before glancing to his twin. Sunstreaker was offering up nothing, refusing to meet his gaze, arms crossed over his chassis in a defensive gesture. Was this some sort of sick joke? To make up for all the pranks he pulled? If so, it was terrible one. "This isn't funny Ratchet."

The medic's features were pressed into a hard line, "No it's not." He agreed, unable to continue as Sideswipe cut him off.

"I'm a twin. I can't spark. You said it yourself, you need two sparks to create a new one." They hadn't worried about installing buffers because they were twins. They'd been merging sparks since they were younglings and never had they sparked off new life.

"I know," Ratchet's tone was both apologetic and defeated. "There just….there is so much we don't know about split sparks….nothing ever suggested…" He shook his helm and Sideswipe began to understand where the medic's mood was coming from, he blamed himself for this. Granted, the twins had whined and begged and moaned about not wanting buffers installed and eventually had convinced Ratchet to give up on the task, but the medic blamed himself regardless.

"So…so I'm sparked." Sideswipe still wasn't convinced; perhaps this was just an elaborate prank, if so it was a cruel one. "Can I….can I see it?" Neither twin had much experience with the creation of new life, but Jazz had made it a point to show everyone pictures of every stage of his and Prowl's newling's development. The medic nodded slowly and keyed up the monitor nearby, pulling up the right image he turned it so that the twins, both of them, could see.

Sure enough, there was an adult spark-Sideswipe knew it was his, much as he wanted to believe this was just an image of Prowl's spark with their newling, it wasn't. He and his twin were split sparks, by nature their sparks were different, not whole. Both in size and shape their sparks were set apart from all others and this was most certainly his spark, his or his twin's anyway. Sure enough, nestled close to his spark, leeching off its energy was a growth, a dim little spark. Their newling. Their creation.

"This isn't a joke." It was a statement seeking confirmation.

"No."

"This isn't…this isn't some sick prank?"

"Sideswipe I'd never-" Ratchet couldn't bring himself to finish his statement, not with the look the red twin was giving him.

"Then we'll….we'll deal with it." Sideswipe threw a glance over to his still silent twin. "Might not have wanted it but…I mean, it can't be that bad." Being a creator. "Need to have a little sprocket to teach my pranks to, legacy and all." The red twin was trying to rationalize it, something deep in his processors told him there was more that Ratchet and Sunny knew about this and so in his worry, he babbled like Bluestreak.

"Sideswipe stop." Ratchet demanded, begged, it was hard to tell. It had the desired effect and the red twin turned violet optics to the medic. "You….This…" Why was it so hard? He'd seen so many deactivate. He'd been there, he'd made the call over who to help, and who to let die. He'd seen so much death and destruction but telling it to these two bots…why was it so hard? "You can't carry this newling to term." It hit like a ton of bricks, he saw the twin's optics refresh at his statement, "You're spark wasn't designed to support another, if I don't medically terminate that spark now it will kill you, all of you."

Sideswipe was left staring at the medic, letting the information sink in. So this was why Sunstreaker was so silent, why he wasn't responding across the bond, he already knew. "You mean…it's possible it'll kill us. There's a chance that it won't right?" The medic's expression told him more than words could but Sideswipe couldn't accept that. "I mean…it wasn't possible for me and Sunny to spark but here we are, so it's got to be possible that we can…that I can…"

"Sideswipe." His tone was soft, far more gentle than he'd ever used, hands rested on red and black shoulders in a comforting gesture. "If there was even a chance, a sliver of a chance that you could do this, you know I'd support you. I've seen you two through more high risk situations than I ever thought you'd have the chance of surviving…but this one, this one isn't among them. Your spark is already showing signs of strain, you know how long a newling must be carried before it can enter its first frame and I'd say you aren't even going to last a quarter of that time. I might be able to buy you some time, but not enough." His hands slipped away as he took a step back, throwing a glance to the silent golden warrior. "I'll let you two discuss it." Ultimately it was their choice, no matter what Ratchet wanted or what was best for them, and the medic silently made his retreat across the empty medbay to his office, unable to face the twins any longer.

* * *

Love it? Hate it? Let me know!


	2. I don't know what I'm to say

Disclaimer: I don't own Hasbro or Transformers. There is a transformer outside my house, but it is on a telephone pole and that too, I do not own.

Forward:

The twins may seem subdued, but given the situation it's hard to portray them as grumpy or impish. That will come later when the storm has passed.

Katea-Nui: Thanks a bunch! As you can see, reviews both positive and constructive, keep me writing!

SunnySidesofBlue: Same as above, thanks for the review, trying to get back into the swing of writing and I was bit by the twins/ratchet bug!

Skittles the Sugar Fairy: XD I've had a few people tell me this, hopefully my take on it is both original and agreeable to everyone's tastes. Thanks for the comment, I worried a bit because the twins are so subdued right now but it's the situation, can't have Sunny worrying about his paint or Sides pranking people right now.

Sergeant Duck: Thanks a bunch for the quick review! Here's a quick chapter update for you!

Special thanks to everyone over at the twins/ratchet LJ community for welcoming me into the fandom!

* * *

Ratchet sank into his chair, glaring at his cluttered desk as if it were to blame for everything he was feeling. It wasn't of course, which only served to make him feel worse, now he was taking his guilt out on inanimate objects.

A cube was shoved into his field of view and if he hadn't been emotionally drained he might have jumped and spilled its contents, instead he only glanced up, following the cube to the hand to the arm to the frame of the mech offering it. "What do you want Wheeljack?" How the mech had sneaked into his office without him noticing was beyond Ratchet, but at the moment he just didn't care.

The engineer contemplated that for several seconds with a tilt of his helm, "To drink, heavily. Just as I know you need to." As always, when the engineer/inventor/explosion specialist's battle mask was in place, his headfins flashed vibrantly as he spoke.

The medic snorted softly, "I'm on duty 'jacks." He pointed out, even as he swiped the offered cube from the other's grasp. From Wheeljack's indication it was probably high grade, the twin's homebrew if he had to guess. He wasn't disappointed, the energon was smooth with no nasty burn and sent a pleasant buzz through his systems; did nothing to stop the ache in his spark though. It was a sad reminder of the pair currently occupying his medbay. Primus, they were grown adults, they were young compared to himself and some of the other crew but with everything they'd faced they were aged beyond compare, yet his spark cried out for them as if they were his own creations. Frag it, with as often as he rebuilt them he figured he deserved the right to call them his, even if he only did so in his processors.

Shifting, Wheeljack moved to lean against the desk, as there was no second chair in the room and Ratchet liked it that way. It kept most people from stopping by to bother him. Most. "You know what they're going to do." He offered up, while it hadn't been made public knowledge yet, Wheeljack had been there when Sunstreaker dragged his unconscious twin into the medbay days ago. He had been there when Ratchet realized what was draining the life from the red twin, and had stayed by his side when the medic admitted to what an impossible situation they had on their hands.

This caused the medic to sigh, venting air from his systems in a very human gesture. They'd left the planet ages ago but they still held onto so many little aspects of the culture. "I know."

Wheeljack nodded lightly, he'd known Ratchet for a long time, longer than he'd guess the twins had been online, long enough to know this wasn't the way the medic usually responded to situations. "Then you know they are going to die."

There was a growl from the medic, there it was, a hint of who this mech should be, not the shadow of himself he was currently portraying. "If you have nothing useful to say get out."

Wheeljack continued unimpressed by the warning, "What I'm curious about is why you didn't suggest the alternative." There it was, the brief twitch of dark blue optics.

"Because there isn't one. They either terminate it or they die." There was finality in his tone, Wheeljack didn't buy it.

"He."

"Excuse me?"

Wheeljack was in no rush to answer and so he sipped on his energon, battle mask, or rather 'save his beautiful features from explosions' mask, retracted. "It's a he, if I could tell that from the scans I know you could."

The engineer just loved pushing the boundaries of what was safe. "It doesn't matter what it is. It's going back to the Matrix alone." Or with the twins, Ratchet couldn't bring himself to say that part.

"Or…" Wheeljack continued, completely oblivious to how certain Ratchet was of these facts. "You could do a spark transfer. Get a surrogate carrier."

Dark blue optics turned angry and Wheeljack knew he was treading a very dangerous line. "Don't. Don't even suggest it."

Sadly, Wheeljack had never known when to quit, it was what made him so very good at what he did. "I'm just saying, it's a possibility. I was a transfer you know, my creator couldn't carry me." But that had all been back in the Golden Age, long before this terrible war.

"It isn't a possibility. Wheeljack, you know as well as I do that back then the odds were a thousand to one that you'd be able to find a spark that could carry the newling, and even then there was no promise anyone involved would survive the transfer." The medic knew very well that this possibility existed, but he couldn't bring himself to offer hope when the odds were so stacked against them. "And that was back when we had a whole planet of mechs and femmes to screen. Now we've got what? Three full ships of individuals, and half a dozen more shuttles, not all of whom are going to line up to help the twins."

In the time following their defeat of Unicron the war had seemed pointless. They couldn't return to Cybertron-the planet would need ages to recover still, and Earth was quickly running out of the resources necessary to support Cybertronian kind. It was a tentative truce at best, but one that had been holding for several Earth generations. The Ark, the Nemesis, and Omega Supreme traveled the universe searching for planets that could sustain their kind along with a convoy of smaller ships and vessels that had joined them along the way. The biggest fight they came cross these days was whether or not to keep the convoy together or send them in various directions to search-Since no one really wanted to be away from the remains of their kind again, the convoy pressed on together.

"But there is a chance." Wheeljack pressed on, not letting the medic talk him out of it.

Finally, Ratchet bit, "Yes. There is a chance, a chance so slim that we'd need to haul Prowl's two toned aft down here to calculate it. Happy?"

Wheeljack thought about it for a while, finishing off his high grade, "Depends, are you going to tell them?"

Again the medic snorted, leaning back in his chair while sipping at his own energon, "What do you think?"

* * *

There was silence following the medic's retreat from the main medbay, effectively leaving the pair alone to face their fate.

"Sunny…"

"I know." Was the soft reply.

"I can't just…"

"I know." He'd had three days to think about their options.

Violet optics dimmed, glancing down as a hand moved to rest over his chassis, he couldn't feel the new life growing within-he knew from experience with Jazz and Prowl that the bond would come later. Jazz had been so excited when he found out Prowl sparked, every step, every new development had been shared with everyone on the ship, whether they wanted to hear it or not. Sideswipe briefly wondered why they couldn't share that joy, not that he ever wanted a creation, but if he was going to have one, why couldn't it be a happy occasion? Another hand covered his and Sideswipe glanced up as Sunstreaker slipped onto the berth beside his twin. The golden warrior tugged his brother close and held the red mech against his frame, needing to give this comfort as much as he needed to get it.

"Hey, remember on earth, when they found out we had relationships?" Sideswipe questioned, just needing to fill the silence. His brother didn't verbally respond but he did give a smirk and the impression that he did remember across their bond. Shifting, Sunstreaker pulled Sideswipe into his lap, leaning back against the wall the berth was pressed up against.

"Primus that was funny….makin' Ratchet explain it was even better." A lot of the details had, of course, been left out and the Autobots didn't go around making it common knowledge of who was with whom doing what. From what he knew of Earth culture his and Sunny's relationship would have been frowned upon or…what was that human word? Right, Taboo. For their kind it was perfectly acceptable. They didn't have the same flaws as organics, didn't need to diversify DNA-whatever that was. Then again, they shouldn't have had to worry about it, considering they were twins and all known data suggested they couldn't spark to begin with. See? This was why he and his twin hated science and intellectual learning, it was wrong most of the time and the few times it seemed to be right it could be proven wrong with enough brute force or stupidity in high quantities.

"Least this'll get us out of comm duty." Sunstreaker finally spoke up, like his twin he recognized the need to fill the silence. Sideswipe smirked at that, curling up against his twin and resting his helm against his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, but that means I'll be trapped in the medbay all the time. How slaggin' boring is that going to be?" Sideswipe countered with. There was no need to verbalize their decision; their bond shared their thoughts and feelings.

"With all the pranks you'll be able to pull on Hatchet along with the fact that he can't kick you out? I'm sure you can keep yourself busy. Just keep me out of it." Sideswipe had to smirk at that comment, and the accompanying thoughts across the bond.

"Don't worry Sunshine, your paint is safe."

Before long the red twin was back in recharge, the emotional stress coupled with the physical strain already being put on his spark had him needing the extra time to maintain normal energy levels. Left with the silence again Sunstreaker vented. He wasn't the sparkless monster most the crew labeled him as, even those that new him personally still thought of him as a killer and he was fine with that. But this? Not even he could give the order to end the life of a newling, not even if it took the life of his twin with it when it went. He nuzzled his cheek against his twin's helm, as always they were very touch oriented, if the newling took his twin to the Matrix he'd gladly follow, it was no different than every time they rushed into battle.

* * *

They waited with bated breath. Not really, they didn't in fact need to breathe, not like humans, but the phrase seemed to fit the moment.

Wheeljack had been the first, the first to volunteer, even before they told the twins of this option. The engineer knew that this was the motivation Ratchet needed to get him going, to get him tempting fate one more time. Hopefully his was the only spark needed, even if Wheeljack was apprehensive about the idea, he'd do anything to help the twins. While they grated nerves and barely fit in amongst most Autobot circles Wheeljack knew there were many who owed the twin's their lives.

A soft beeping alerted Wheeljack to the fact that the results were in. While Sideswipe had been in a medicated recharge, trying to bring his energy readings up to a normal level, Ratchet had proactively taken all scans necessary to give him what he needed to know, all he had to do was find willing sparks to compare the data to. Like Wheeljack's.

The engineer waited, trying to gauge Ratchet's expression, it didn't change, but that was more than enough to tell him the answer. Shoulders slumped, "It's not your fault 'jacks."

"I know, can't blame a mech for trying though." He shrugged, so it wasn't going to be that easy, there were still a few ships full of mechs and femmes who could be tested, if they volunteered that is.

"Besides, if you were a match you'd have to give up your inventions while you carried, and that would have been impossible." Couldn't have a carrier exploding after all.

"Eh, I could have managed a few months out of the lab, would have been well worth it, having the twins at my beck and call, could have used them to settle some old grudges." He mused, letting the gravity of the situation fade for a moment. "Don't see why you don't do that now."

"Do what?" Ratchet questioned as he shut down the scanner, having no further need for it at the moment.

"Use the twins to make the ship rue the day it disobeyed medical orders. They might give you trouble but if it came down to it, they'd follow you to the Pit before taking an order from Primus himself." Ratchet offered a snort at that.

"I think you need to lay off the high grade 'jacks."

The engineer looked thoughtful for a few moments, "Probably." His headfins flashed as his battle mask slide back into place, "You going to tell them now?" He wondered, motioning to the closed door which led back into the medbay.

Ratchet glanced to it before looking down at his desk, pulling up the video feed for the 'bay and finding the right angle to watch the pair, both curled up and apparently in recharge. "Let them rest first." He requested and Wheeljack would allow him that time. Inwardly Ratchet hoped the twins would still prove his spark feeling wrong and give up the newling, make this whole ordeal easier on them all. In truth, he wanted the extra time to prepare himself for what he knew would come. They'd keep the newling, and he'd have to beg Primus to keep them all out of the Well of Allsparks.


	3. I say it anyway

Disclaimer: I don't own Hasbro or Transformers. There is a transformer outside my house, but it is on a telephone pole and that too, I do not own.

Author's Note: Slightly smaller chapter, couldn't bring myself to continue it where it leaves off, just didn't flow right. Next chapter should have more, maybe, gotta rework it.

Thank you for all the positive feedback!

Light Our Darkest Hour: Wow! I love in depth reviews. Haha, glad you liked the opening to chapter one. Don't know if I'll get to the point where I'm typing out those situations or just fading to black, not sure if I'm up to the task of accurately describe it without it being cheesy. I think there is a lot to consider and this topic is a very contriversal one to dabble in. There is no right or wrong answer is there? Can you fault someone for saving their own life over the life of a just sparked not even developed newling? Anyway thanks again!

Juzu: Thanks for the review! Hope you like this chapter.

Katea-Nui: Thanks a lot, here's the update! Had to finish finals first lol

LediShae: Amazing? Don't know if it's that good, haha. Yes…Ratchet and his miracle. Does the old mech have one more in him?

Sideslip: Shocked? Eh…this is Ratchet we're talking about XD He might just get slagfaced drunk. Then again, it depends on WHO is the compatible spark…dun dun dun.

Crazygrrl XD: X3 This chapter should address your concerns!

The second time Sideswipe woke in the medbay was far better than the first in some respects. The fact that he was curled up in his twin's arms and could feel the strong pulse of Sunstreaker's spark close to his own was one of those reasons. Sadly, reality reared its ugly, sharkticon shaped helm and reminded him of just why he was in the medbay in the first place. That part wasn't so pleasant.

With a frown on his features he tried to bury himself closer to his twin's frame and make the rest of the world and its problems vanish. They might have been feared on the battlefield, might not have any issues ripping a mech's spark from his chassis and might go down in history as ruthless, battle crazed mechs, but right now he wanted nothing more than to cuddle his twin. Only one thing could draw him out of his pity party and it was the one thing that decided to make itself, or rather himself, known.

"Sideswipe, how are you feeling?" Ratchet. How had he not noticed the medic so close before? Perhaps his skills were getting rusty after all.

There was a small shrug from the red twin, not intentionally trying to wake his brother, "Still slaggin' tired." He complained, shifting so that he could better face the medic while pressing his back and shoulder against Sunny's frame.

"That's to be expected, your spark has learned to function on its own and support your own frame, but asking it to support another life like this….it's a strain." Too much of a strain for his spark to handle, "Here." He offered out a cube of blue liquid, far different from the usual pink midgrade, or even the amber colored high grade they made in their quarters. "It's concentrated so it isn't going to have the best taste or texture, but it should boost your levels." The medic was already moving to sit in the chair Sunstreaker had not long ago abandoned, pulling it a little closer to the berth so that he could continue the conversation.

Reaching for the cube Sideswipe noticed that he was already hooked up to an energon feed, meaning his frame was already being supplied extra energon on top of the recharge he used to conserve energy and this special brew to boost his systems. He'd only had the new spark for a few days, and it was already having a massive effect on his systems and spark.

He stared at the energon for a few minutes and Ratchet watched the younger mech. He seemed to be so lost in thought, probably contemplating the reality of the situation, the difficult choice ahead and the results that would occur depending upon the decisions he and his twin made. Of course, Ratchet was making the assumption that the red twin was capable of such deep and life altering thoughts, his mistake.

In truth, Sideswipe was just wondering how awful the energon was going to taste.

There was a sort of peace in knowing how set they were on their decision. For the twins, it wasn't an option. They'd fought to survive everything in life, from the experimentations done because they were split sparks, to fighting in the gladiatorial rings. Even surviving starvation until they'd been found by the Autobots had been a battle, not to mention becoming soldiers that could rival Megatron on the battlefield. This was just another battle, another time when they had Prowl telling them the odds were stacked against them, they'd find a way to win, and failure was not an option.

With that resolve, he sipped at the unassuming energon.

Bleh. It was beyond nasty, but Sideswipe couldn't deny the near immediate boost it gave to his systems.

"We're keeping it you know." He offered up, not meeting Ratchet's gaze.

The medic nodded lightly, "I know, you two never make life easy for me." That gained a small smile from Sideswipe, no, he guessed they didn't did they?

Shifting, the older mech leaned forward, elbows resting against his legs for a moment as he tried to figure out how he was going to offer them hope, knowing that in the end the odds were too greatly stacked against them. "There is…" He vented, "Why don't you wake your brother so we can all talk?"

Blinking his violet optics Sideswipe glanced from the medic up to his twin's dozing features, shifting a little to try and rouse his brother. Sunny was probably just as exhausted as he was, not only did his twin keep vigil over him while he recharged for three days, but they were twins, bonded, they shared everything including energy. "Come on Sunflower time to wake up." He ordered while tapping his twin's helm.

A growl was the response he got for the nickname as one of Sunstreaker's arms tightened around his twin, pinning him in place, the other hand whacked Sides on the helm. "It's Sun-streaker, idiot."

Sideswipe, not about to let this retaliation go unchecked let loose a similar growl using one claw to scratch the golden paint on his twin's chassis. "You're the idiot, afthole."

Ratchet was left blinking, staring at the pair and their argument that was quickly becoming heated. Here he was, trying to have a serious discussion, here they were making a decision concerning their very lives…and they were acting like uncultured younglings. Before Sunstreaker could go postal over having his paint messed with they were both reminded of their audience in the form of the medic's soft and rare laughter. Owlishly two pairs of violet optics turned towards the medic who merely shook his helm, "Only you two." Moments like these gave the medic hope, if these two immature younglings could survive all that they had…then they could survive this too. Maybe, just maybe.

Sobering he gave himself another moment before addressing the pair. "So you're keeping him." It was just a recap, just to see if there was any waiver in their resolve.

Sideswipe nodded and his twin tilted his golden and black helm, "Him?"

The medic nodded, "Yes, the new spark is a little mech." There was brief looks of wonderment on beautiful features and not for the first time Ratchet wished he was giving this news under better circumstances.

"A mech…we made a little mech." Sunstreaker seemed lost in the awe of it, and it was easy to forget the situation they were in when faced with this knowledge.

"Course it's a mech, not like you or I are anything like femmes." As if that had something to do with what orientation the spark took, "Then again you do preen over yourself worse than a femme." Never miss a moment to tease, those were the twins Ratchet knew and loved.

The comment earned a growl and a hard shake from the golden twin. "I don't care what it is as long as it's not a minibot." Sideswipe had the audacity to look horrified. Ratchet couldn't help but shake his helm. Tell them they were sparked, they accepted it, tell them they had to terminate the newling or die and they faced certain deactivation with hardened resolve. Mention that their creation just might be a minibot and he gets the 'say it isn't so' expression from the red twin.

"Creations tend to take after their creators, or what frames their creators prefer." It wasn't an exact science as there were rebellious new sparks out there, but most gathered what to like and not like based off their creators thoughts and ideas.

Bah. This isn't what he wanted to talk to them about and it wasn't right letting them pretend the inevitable didn't exist.

"I've already told you what will happen if you keep him." Ratchet commented, trying to draw the discussion back to the serious matter they had on their hands. It worked a little too well as both parts of the twin pair grew silent for a time.

"Yeah but…we can make it. We have to." Was Sideswipe's comment, shifting to make his twin hold him closer as he needed the physical reassurance.

Ratchet didn't comment on that, he wasn't there to argue with them, or the point out how wrong Sideswipe's hopes were. "There is…something else that could be done. But….the chances of it working are only slightly better than Sideswipe carrying the newling to term." An improvement sure, but improving over certain death wasn't much of an improvement, then again it depended on who you asked.

"What is it?" Sunny questioned, the medic had his full attention now. If Ratchet told Sunstreaker he had to go face Primus himself and bring back the mech-god's head he'd do it. They were vulnerable right now, in a situation where they couldn't easily fight their way to the right answer, but that didn't take away from what they were. They were warriors, they were mechs built to survive.

"Spark transfer. Finding a spark compatible to your newling who can carry him to term. It's still risky, The adult spark could reject the newling and self-terminate him, the newling could be too stressed from the transfer and terminate or Sideswipe's spark could stress over the early loss of the newling and…"

"And terminate." Sideswipe finished for the medic, thinking over what information they'd just been given, "Either way you're saying I'm a dead mech, might as well try the option that has some chance of somebot living." The red twin wasn't overly hopeful, something told him there was more to this than Ratchet was letting on.

The older mech shifted, "It isn't that easy. While that part will be hard, the impossible task is finding a spark that is compatible. The odds aren't good-"

"But there's a chance." Sunstreaker cut him off and Ratchet felt his anger boiling at the way they were finishing his statements, still, he couldn't bring himself to smack either of them, not yet anyway. "That's all we need." There was determination in that statement, the fire to survive; to make it through this alive was rekindled. "What do we have to do?"

Feeding off Sunstreaker's conviction Ratchet moved to stand. "You two? Nothing. Rest for now, Sideswipe's spark needs all the energy you can conserve. You're restricted to the 'bay." He commented with a finger pointing at the red twin, before it moved to his twin, "You should stay here too; you're both pulled from duty until this is over. Now I mean it. Rest. I've got a ship full of mechs and femmes to scan." If there were volunteers that was. "You know I'll need to tell the ship what's going on, if we plan on getting anyone down here." Could hardly ask anyone to see if they were a match without knowing what for.

Sideswipe nodded, curling back up and turning towards his twin. Sunstreaker offered the medic a somber look but nodded as well.

Ratchet couldn't linger for much longer, couldn't face the intensity of the golden warrior's gaze. "If you want you two can take up one of the ICU rooms." It would give them more privacy and allow Ratchet to better monitor their vitals at the same time.

With that, and suddenly feeling like he was the intruder in his own medbay, Ratchet made his retreat.


	4. Today's another day to find you

AN: Uber short chapter. Between Writing this, deciding to rewrite it, having it deleted, rewritten, only half saved, laptop busting and life….well you get the picture. Originally this chapter was much longer and extended into what will now be the following chapter. I just wanted to get this out there to spur me on, and where it ends seemed like a good point upon review.

Katea-Nui: Because Primus hates him?

Crazygrrl XD: Haha Jazz would be jealous! Keep in mind…there is a whole Decepticon ship full of mechs to test, and some NAILS (term from comics) too!

SunnySidesofBlue: Awwww see you're evil just like me! Just consider, have you ever offered to help someone then not wanted to do it? Usually we just grudgingly do it because we said we would, didn't think we'd actually be taken up on the offer. Now imagine there is a .001% chance you'll be taken up on that offer, but it's the one being asked of the crew now, you get scanned just to humor everone but turns out you're the lucky match. Do you do it or bow out? Not so easy.

Qwertzu: Ratchet the Hatchet…attending physician and carrier? Poor First Aid, his patient would be the worst to deal with!

Emi: Thanks so much, the stories are just a fun pass time (when the above AN doesn't happen of course.)

Nebula: Hehe glad you like! Here is a short update to hopefully tide you over. Laptop is back in action so I should be back on track with hammering out these chapters (should they not disappear again and make me rage face.)

There was silence in the meeting room-they weren't seated in the official Command Center which was a room off the bridge that was nick named the 'War room'. Far too much time had been spent in that room, plotting and planning against enemies who had become their greatest and tentative allies in a battle against the very Unmaker himself.

Instead, the group of officers had met in one of the smaller, but still suitable rooms reserved for meetings of various departments.

Who were they all kidding? They were meeting here because the hologrid in the War Room frightened Silverstreak, Jazz and Prowl's sparkling. And as they all knew what upset the sparkling, fragged off his creators, and no one, NO ONE wanted to deal with that.

That was beside the point of course, as Ratchet had just dropped a bomb on the group, which was made worse by the happy comments, jeers and snickers at the knowledge that the twins were expecting. Jazz had happily informed the sparkling in his lap that he'd have another playmate soon, Ironhide grumbled something about how they better not have twins but there was no ire in his tone. Hound and Mirage were more subdued, but even they shared a look that spoke volumes, new life was always to be welcomed and celebrated. Prime himself chuckled with the hope that this sparkling would give the twins a taste of their own medicine as the human phrase went.

Only four seemed unhappy with the news.

Red Alert was to be expected, and though he didn't seem to harbor negative feelings towards the situation, he did groan at the thought of a twin created spawn loose on the ship.

Which left Ratchet and Wheeljack, both knowing where this was going, and the ever observant Prowl.

"Ratchet." His voice was calm, soft as ever, some said that Prowl never raised his voice on purpose, so that when he finally did, mechs took notice. Even little Silverstreak, a wonderful combination of silver and black markings, looked over to his carrier from where he was sat on Jazz's lap. "Why did you call this meeting?"

That, suddenly, had the attention of the entire room. A new life was a joy, and something that would require the officers to be aware of, schedules would have to change, allowances would need to be made-there was nothing worse than a protective creator when his or her mate wasn't feeling well. While a meeting was a great way to tell everyone the good news at once, never before had the announcement of new life been done in such a fashion.

The medic vented slowly, inwardly making a note to be ever so attentive the next time Prowl needed his systems flushed. Truthfully he didn't hold the tactician's quizzical nature against him, but he needed someone to blame.

The white and red mech was subdued as he explained the situation; that alone, kept anyone from comment until the story was done. Ratchet was loud, forceful and most of the time vulgar, he didn't do subtle and serious very often.

When Ironhide told Ratchet to just find a surrogate the medic gave him the full weight of his glare before explaining the difficulty with it.

By the end of the meeting most of the staff was in a somber mood, Prowl had taken over at some point and come up with a schedule of time slots the various crew members could reserve to get themselves checked out by Ratchet, that way the medbay wasn't bottlenecked all at once. Ratchet didn't want to be that hopeful, to think that so many would come to help the twins like this. This wasn't just asking a favor, this was asking someone to risk their life, or be stuck as a surrogate carrier to a creation that wasn't their own should the twins not survive.

Ratchet couldn't bring himself to look at the schedule, his spark ached enough watching the twins mope around the medbay, seeing an empty list would have made that even worse.

Still, he could be a little hopeful right?

Prowl had requested one day to get the notice out to the entire crew, to upload the schedule to Teletran and start arranging for mechs to have shifts off sooner in order to fill those positions, if they volunteered. Despite fearing the worst Ratchet had his scanner ready, still loaded with the necessary information to locate a match for the newling Sideswipe carried.

What he didn't expect was to see Jazz and Prowl strolling in only minutes before the first time slot, sparkling cradled in the silver mech's hold.

"Jazz, Prowl." He greeted simply as the scanner was set aside in favor of moving towards the couple, very few things brought both of them to the medbay, "Something wrong with Silverstreak?" His built in medical scanners were already checking.

"Naw, he's a lil' bundle a'happy." Jazz offered, snuggling his creation who giggled at the attention.

Thankfully Prowl spoke up before Ratchet could question them further, "We're your first appointment." When he saw the medic's optics narrow in something that was probably close to anger or agitation, Prowl smartly stepped half behind his mate and their creation.

"No." Was the flat out reply to an unasked question.

Still feeling safe from his place Prowl attempted reason, "This is a volunteer basis, you can't deny u-"

"Oh yes I can. You both understand the danger involved. Don't think I'm going to risk losing both of you as well. I don't know what Primus forsaken idea you've got lodged in your helms but you're wrong. I won't do it."

Jazz, who'd been happy enough to let Prowl dig himself a ditch gave a slight smile, "Ratch', no disrespect or nuttin' but it ain't really yer choice." He really meant that, they weren't doing this to spit the medic, that wasn't the point.

Ratchet was tempted to throw something, but managed to subdue his anger, if only for the sake of the sparkling's presence. "Why? You know the risk, you know that if either of you are a match there's a high chance you won't survive. Why risk what you have?"

There was silence for a moment, and briefly Ratchet wondered if they honestly understood the gravity of the situation.

Of course they did, they weren't Prime's second and third for no reason-and no one quiet knew which of the mechs held which position.

"Because, they risked their lives through the whole war for all of us." Prowl answered and Jazz nodded, thinking along the same lines as his mate.

"They gave us the chance ta have Silver. Ain't sayin' they're the only ones who saved another durin' the war, but we owe 'em."

The larger mech continued to glare at the couple, wanting to argue more but reluctant to do so in front of the sparkling. "If I'm going to do this I'm putting you both into stasis and scanning your sparks, both of you get too defensive and I can't do that while you've got him." Jazz and Prowl were notoriously bad at handling each other's spark being examined in any way, they took the term bondmate to the extreme sometimes.

This seemed to put a kink in the couple's plans, at least until twitchy doorwings indicated Prowl and his overactive processors had come up with something. "Where did you say the twins were hiding?"


End file.
